What does "open-back" mean?

Of headphones: only partially covering the ear, so that there is airflow to the wearer's ears.

What is a synonym for "open-back"?

Common synonyms include: open-ear, open-eared.

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Of headphones: only partially covering the ear, so that there is airflow to the wearer's ears.
"For listening in quiet, isolated environments like your home, "open-back" earphones, usually over- or on-ear, are your best bet."

"For listening in quiet, isolated environments like your home, "open-back" earphones, usually over- or on-ear, are your best bet."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.